Apr 5, 2014, 3:23 pm
Last edit by: eponymous_coward
Emirates award guide using Alaska Airlines miles
Routing Rules:
All trips must start or end in North America.
One open jaw and one stopover allowed on each one-way award.
No fees for changes/cancellations prior to 60 days from departure.
North American Gateway Cities:
West Coast
Seattle
San Francisco
Los Angeles
Central
Chicago
Dallas
Houston
East Coast
Boston
New York (JFK)
Orlando (Effective September 1, 2015)
Washington DC (IAD)
Canada
Toronto
Award Chart Links*:
Middle East & Africa
Asia
Europe
*If region is not listed on chart its not available.
Perks
Chauffeur Drive NOT Available
Car service is not available for all Business Class and First Class passengers on Alaska Airlines ticketed award tickets on Emirates flights (as of Jan 2015). The chauffeur will not confirm if you use the EK website for this, though the website makes it look you can make a reservation.
Lounges
Access is available for all passengers traveling in Business and First Class. Not all cities have lounges and many may be operated by a Partner. There have been some reports of people having an issue accessing the Dubai lounges as the tickets may appear in their system as non-revenue employee travel. This is not as much of a problem as it used to be but in case it comes up please advise the lounge attendant that you are on an Alaska Airlines award.
Dubai Connect
AS Awards on EK do not qualify for Dubai Connect, which is the service that offers the free hotel.
Tricks to find Transoceanic availability
Instead of performing a blanket, i.e. SEA-DXB search, perform: SEA-MED.
Madinah is a destination that is only served by EK. Consequently, if there is availability, only EK will show up in the calendar results.
Routing Rules:
All trips must start or end in North America.
One open jaw and one stopover allowed on each one-way award.
No fees for changes/cancellations prior to 60 days from departure.
North American Gateway Cities:
West Coast
Seattle
San Francisco
Los Angeles
Central
Chicago
Dallas
Houston
East Coast
Boston
New York (JFK)
Orlando (Effective September 1, 2015)
Washington DC (IAD)
Canada
Toronto
Award Chart Links*:
Middle East & Africa
Asia
Europe
*If region is not listed on chart its not available.
Perks
Chauffeur Drive NOT Available
Car service is not available for all Business Class and First Class passengers on Alaska Airlines ticketed award tickets on Emirates flights (as of Jan 2015). The chauffeur will not confirm if you use the EK website for this, though the website makes it look you can make a reservation.
Lounges
Access is available for all passengers traveling in Business and First Class. Not all cities have lounges and many may be operated by a Partner. There have been some reports of people having an issue accessing the Dubai lounges as the tickets may appear in their system as non-revenue employee travel. This is not as much of a problem as it used to be but in case it comes up please advise the lounge attendant that you are on an Alaska Airlines award.
Dubai Connect
AS Awards on EK do not qualify for Dubai Connect, which is the service that offers the free hotel.
Tricks to find Transoceanic availability
Instead of performing a blanket, i.e. SEA-DXB search, perform: SEA-MED.
Madinah is a destination that is only served by EK. Consequently, if there is availability, only EK will show up in the calendar results.
Consolidated Emirates (EK) awards availability/booking/routing thread
Nov 19, 2013, 3:10 pm
#481
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: BOS/ORH
Programs: AS 75K
Posts: 18,323
In regard to other airlines systems (not EF). We should be able to trust them, I cant think of any program out there where an airline says partner A gets this much space and partner B gets this much space, Partner C gets this and. Space is available to all partners or the space is available only to none of the partners.
Nov 19, 2013, 5:46 pm
#482
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: SIN
Programs: SQ, UA, Delta, BMI(RIP), Marriott Lifetime Titanium, Hilton Diamond (Thanks Amex) Hyatt Discov
Posts: 1,942
Not true. Try SQ availability via other *Alliance partners FF programs versus using BMI Diamond Club (RIP) or Lifemiles!
Nov 19, 2013, 11:57 pm
#483
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: HIO
Programs: AS MVPG 75K (Pure AS)
Posts: 194
Sooo....back to EK for a sec...
So am I correct, then, that in a couple of weeks when I'm within the 330-day window to book two OW F award tix from MLE-DXB-LAX-PDX (the return of a trip that's already booked), my only shot is on the web tool? No potential with getting anywhere further with the Partner desk (even if I find Z space with KVS)?
...and am I right that my prospects are probably pretty dim anyway? Would they be potentially better closer to the date of travel (not that I'm likely willing to wait until it gets closer on the off chance it'll open up--seems awfully risky!)
I appreciate the discussion about the overlapping sets of availability that are in Direct Access and the web tool, and agree that giving customers the union of those sets makes the most from a service perspective.
But sometimes it's all about the ticket you're about to (try to) find!
...and am I right that my prospects are probably pretty dim anyway? Would they be potentially better closer to the date of travel (not that I'm likely willing to wait until it gets closer on the off chance it'll open up--seems awfully risky!)
I appreciate the discussion about the overlapping sets of availability that are in Direct Access and the web tool, and agree that giving customers the union of those sets makes the most from a service perspective.
But sometimes it's all about the ticket you're about to (try to) find!
Nov 25, 2013, 3:05 pm
#484
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Jersey City, NJ
Programs: UA GS, AA Exec Plat, Bonvoy Ambassador, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 348
I am not sure where to ask this, but I am trying to plan the following trip on EK next October
JFK-DXB-DEL
Ironically I was able to find availability on the JFK-DXB in J very easily, but I can't find anything, Y, J, or F from DXB to DEL. I see plenty of availability on the DXB-DEL sector in September, but nothing on any day in October. Is it too early, or is October usually like this?
JFK-DXB-DEL
Ironically I was able to find availability on the JFK-DXB in J very easily, but I can't find anything, Y, J, or F from DXB to DEL. I see plenty of availability on the DXB-DEL sector in September, but nothing on any day in October. Is it too early, or is October usually like this?
Nov 26, 2013, 10:26 pm
#485
Join Date: May 2003
Location: PDX USA
Programs: AS MVPG, AA, BA, SPG Gold, HHonors Gold, Hyatt Platinum, IHG, Hertz 5*
Posts: 690
The root of the problem is that what AS things is "cost-effective" and "sustainable" may not be what customers believe are the right actions. Miles are effectively prepaid travel. We've paid for the right to access certain travel options upfront, in a nonrefundable manner. We've put our trust and our wallets in AS' hands. It's disappointing and borderline fraudulent for AS to then sit back and say "Oh, you can't access that thing that 1) you already paid us for and 2) our travel partners are making available? Oh well, try another date. I'm sure you can rearrange your schedule."
I have no need for placating assurances that AS knows what's best and has already done everything possible. The problem with that position is that every airline claims this, even when they intentionally block seats. If AS was truly committed to securing seats, they wouldn't blame IT snafus and industry-wide problems. A company dedicated to securing seats for its customers would say things like
"Book if you can online, but if an airline has an award seat available that you can't book online, call us up and we'll book it for you, even if it means calling up the partner directly." or...
"If a partner confirms an award seat is available and you can't book it on our web site, book it as a paid rate and we'll reimburse you." or how about...
"Our web site allows booking 330 days out because that was the cheapest option. But since we know some of the scarcest seats are only available at 350 days out, call us up and we can still manually book those. We know from experience that only 1% of our customers ever book seats in that timeframe, so it's not a big expense for us. We know those seats mean a lot to you."
Instead, what I see is a company whose primary motivation is minimizing the bottom line, and THEN providing the "best" possible awards within those budget constraints.
I don't mean to demean the hard work you or your coworkers do, but let's not conflate "we try hard within the budget we're given" with "we're providing customers with access to all the seats that they've prepaid for."
I have no need for placating assurances that AS knows what's best and has already done everything possible. The problem with that position is that every airline claims this, even when they intentionally block seats. If AS was truly committed to securing seats, they wouldn't blame IT snafus and industry-wide problems. A company dedicated to securing seats for its customers would say things like
"Book if you can online, but if an airline has an award seat available that you can't book online, call us up and we'll book it for you, even if it means calling up the partner directly." or...
"If a partner confirms an award seat is available and you can't book it on our web site, book it as a paid rate and we'll reimburse you." or how about...
"Our web site allows booking 330 days out because that was the cheapest option. But since we know some of the scarcest seats are only available at 350 days out, call us up and we can still manually book those. We know from experience that only 1% of our customers ever book seats in that timeframe, so it's not a big expense for us. We know those seats mean a lot to you."
Instead, what I see is a company whose primary motivation is minimizing the bottom line, and THEN providing the "best" possible awards within those budget constraints.
I don't mean to demean the hard work you or your coworkers do, but let's not conflate "we try hard within the budget we're given" with "we're providing customers with access to all the seats that they've prepaid for."
Called immediately and simultaneously searched as.com for the availability. It returned Z0. I proceeded with the call. The agent said it wasn't available and I politely asked her to check Direct Access. Sure enough, she could see them, but couldn't book them. She temporarily corrected herself and seemed to be willing to do so, except that she would have to completely reissue the ticket, potentially losing the business class seats already booked. Asked for a supervisor.
Had a pleasant, lengthy conversation with him. His explanation differs a bit from what has been represented here, so not sure if its the real story, so I'm just reporting it here. A directive has been issued from senior leaders for all agents to absolutely not book using Direct Access, period. Although he wasn't certain, he appeared to blame the possibility of Emirates coming back to AS and saying that too much of that activity had been occurring and may have gone against the partnership agreement. AS had to eat crow or may have financially suffered in some way. It sounded like EK meant to have some seats available only to their FF base for a period, before opening it up to partners and AS may have been skirting the system too much.
He also explained that Direct Access was an uncertain process. Although the agents could 'see' seats, they still had to issue a request email to Emirates with no guarantee EK would confirm the request. That would correspond to ASTechGuy's assertion it wasn't always successful. Makes it sound more like EK controlling the seats and how their distributed.
So, long story short: no Direct Access - period. EF effectiveness has now been severely diluted, since we cannot set alerts on as.com to let us know when EK award seats might appear. Direct Access may have been a workaround way, but at the same time the supervisor stated he was very used to using DA over the past 7 years and the change has been hard for him.
There it is, at least what I experienced this evening.
Nov 27, 2013, 1:28 am
#486
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: (SJC)
Posts: 2,198
Thanks pdxasflyer.
Does this mean if you can see it in as.com if can be booked, otherwise slim chance?
I would suspect long term EK will make a partner fare bucket that has this "fewer" seats you mention but doubt it is a priority.
Thanks for sharing all that info. Glad we did our EK F flying be fare this new policy
Does this mean if you can see it in as.com if can be booked, otherwise slim chance?
I would suspect long term EK will make a partner fare bucket that has this "fewer" seats you mention but doubt it is a priority.
Thanks for sharing all that info. Glad we did our EK F flying be fare this new policy
Nov 27, 2013, 6:28 am
#487
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: BOS/ORH
Programs: AS 75K
Posts: 18,323
That's my issue. I think EK will confirm yes if someone were to email them. BUT NO no one want to check.
Nov 27, 2013, 8:28 am
#488
Join Date: Jan 2001
Posts: 2,834
Thanks pdxasflyer.
Does this mean if you can see it in as.com if can be booked, otherwise slim chance?
I would suspect long term EK will make a partner fare bucket that has this "fewer" seats you mention but doubt it is a priority.
Thanks for sharing all that info. Glad we did our EK F flying be fare this new policy
Does this mean if you can see it in as.com if can be booked, otherwise slim chance?
I would suspect long term EK will make a partner fare bucket that has this "fewer" seats you mention but doubt it is a priority.
Thanks for sharing all that info. Glad we did our EK F flying be fare this new policy
Nov 27, 2013, 9:01 am
#489
Join Date: May 2003
Location: PDX USA
Programs: AS MVPG, AA, BA, SPG Gold, HHonors Gold, Hyatt Platinum, IHG, Hertz 5*
Posts: 690
Thanks pdxasflyer.
Does this mean if you can see it in as.com if can be booked, otherwise slim chance?
I would suspect long term EK will make a partner fare bucket that has this "fewer" seats you mention but doubt it is a priority.
Thanks for sharing all that info. Glad we did our EK F flying be fare this new policy
Does this mean if you can see it in as.com if can be booked, otherwise slim chance?
I would suspect long term EK will make a partner fare bucket that has this "fewer" seats you mention but doubt it is a priority.
Thanks for sharing all that info. Glad we did our EK F flying be fare this new policy
Originally Posted by CDKing
That's my issue. I think EK will confirm yes if someone were to email them. BUT NO no one want to check.
Nov 27, 2013, 10:12 am
#491
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: BOS/ORH
Programs: AS 75K
Posts: 18,323
What happend when the person emailed EK? Or did they even do that? I was trying to get ASTechGuy to humor me but it doesnt appear he will. I could just keep calling but im pretty sure there is a big memo in my record not to do it.
Nov 27, 2013, 11:27 am
#492
Join Date: Nov 2011
Posts: 6,385
very informative post, thanks for the info.
Nov 27, 2013, 11:54 am
#493
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: SFO
Posts: 224
I did a check last week after ASTechGuy was giving his updates, comparing EF to as.com. For Jan-April, almost all EF=1 were as.com=0. Surprisingly, in April, there were several instances of EF=0, as.com=2, or EF=1, as.com=2. I didn't try to book anything on as.com to see if there actually was availability or it would just give an error, so I didn't post my "analysis" since the results didn't make sense. Honestly, I didn't want to know that the flights really weren't available.
Nov 27, 2013, 4:10 pm
#494
Join Date: May 2003
Location: PDX USA
Programs: AS MVPG, AA, BA, SPG Gold, HHonors Gold, Hyatt Platinum, IHG, Hertz 5*
Posts: 690
He didn't call or email EK. They were told not to even try.
Dec 1, 2013, 9:29 pm
#495
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: HIO
Programs: AS MVPG 75K (Pure AS)
Posts: 194
Reason for some hope...
As a coda to my experience, I went looking (pessimistically, I confess) on the AS website for DXB-LAX F award seats (in pairs, to accommodate my wife and I).
On the Tuesday I wanted, 330 days out, I had no problem with availability. For grins, I looked back a couple of weeks as well, and found availability for two seats then, too. So perhaps the rare spot of good news...
Having a bit more trouble with the MLE-DXB leg, but that's easier to work around. Hard to find a good substitute for the F experience in an EK A380!
On the Tuesday I wanted, 330 days out, I had no problem with availability. For grins, I looked back a couple of weeks as well, and found availability for two seats then, too. So perhaps the rare spot of good news...
Having a bit more trouble with the MLE-DXB leg, but that's easier to work around. Hard to find a good substitute for the F experience in an EK A380!